Rotatable shoe rack



June 2'', 1964 A. B. FARLEY ROTATABLE SHOE RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filedi April 26, 1961 FIG.3

INVENTOR. AILEEN B. FARLEY BYW AT TORN EY June 2, 1964v FIG.6

3,135,389 ROTATABLE SHOE RACK Aileen B. Farley, 1825 19th St., Vero Beach, Fla. Filed Apr. 26, 1961, Ser. No. 105,666

2 Claims. (Cl. 21137) This invention relates to an article holding device, and more particularly, this invention relates to an article holding device being constructed and having its parts arranged so as to be adapted to hold merchandise such as shoes and the like.

The article holding device described hereinafter is a stand having a base which is designed to provide an upright, space-saving, practical storage unit for shoes or the like which is both decorative and convenient for use in closets with or without doors orthose closets provided with sliding doors on which there is no place to hang the conventional shoe bag. When this device is used in closets as a shoe storage unit, it eliminates the need for the conventional horizontal shoe rack with the necessary floor space which it occupies, be it a shelf type or floor type.

Generally, the device comprises a base provided with an upright stem to which stern there are mounted pockets or pouches into which articles may be placed for storage. The base may be of any configuration, preferably circular. The stem or center pin is rotatable about its longiutdinal axis whereby pockets or pouches located thereon may be rotated to any convenient position. In this manner shoes or other articles located within the pockets or pouches can be rotated into full visual range when the device is used in closets and at the same time provide a convenient, accessible storage unit into which shoes may be placed or removed with ease. The device may be constructed or lightweight material and have the advantage of being portable whereby it may i be moved and the space which it occupied cleaned readily.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an article holding device of the type described hereinafter which may be used for the storage of shoes or other articles which are customarily kept in closets.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a device which will be useful and decorative and at the same time occupy a minimum amount of floor space such as is useful in displaying merchandise in department stores and the like.

It is another object of this invention to provide an article holding device which may either stand on the floor on a base provided and be rotatable in said base, or also be hung in a closet from a metal hanging hook which is provided on the device.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a device of the type described hereinafter having the aforesaid objects and advantages which is decorative and can be constructed of different material, such as light metal, clear or colored molded glass or plastic material, and other suitable types of decorative fabric and materials, rendering said device susceptible for many uses including, as a flower planter, as at display arrangement, as a counter display unit, or as a storage means for shoes or other articles in closets, the device having cone-shaped pockets or pouches which are peculiarly adaptable for receiving and storing shoes.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyinfg drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment there- 1 In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation View of the applicants invention;

United States Patent 0 FIGQB is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along lines 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along 7 lines 44 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the method of folding or assembling an integral part of the applicants invention;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view illustrating an alternate use of the applicants invention; and

FIG. 7 is an alternative embodiment of the applicants invention illustrating a use thereof. 7

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designates like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, and referring particularly to FIG. 1, 11 designates the invention generally comprising a base 12, an upright stem 13 having pockets, generally designated 14, mounted thereto and a hook 15 provided at the top of the stem 13. The stem is provided at the top thereof with a swivel ball housing 16 aflixed to the stem by suitable means 17, said housing having a hole 18 therein for receiving the hook 15, which is provided with a swivelball 19. The bottom of the stem is provided with a chamber 21 having received therein a sleeve 22 which is locked within said chamber by means of a ball bearing housing 23. The base 12 is provided with an axial bore 24 therethrough having a counter-sunk portion 26 on the underside thereof. A stud 25 having a threaded end is received within said bore 24 and locked in position therein by means of a first nut 27 housed in the aforesaid recess and a second nut 28 and washer 29 abutting the upper surface of said base, said stud projecting upwardly and being receivable in said sleeve, Whereby when saidstem is positioned over the stud, it may be rotated with a minimum amount of friction as the end of the stem 31 easily rides on the ball bearings provided. The base 12 and the stem 13 may be covered with a quilted exterior plastic fabric 12a of any suitable color and provided with a trim 34 comprising a cotton bias tape as required to cover the seams of the quilted fabric; other suitable coverings and designs for coverings will be apparent and may be employed without departing from the scope of this invention. The pockets 14 are formed from a piece of cloth fabric 30 having a center portion cut out therein forming a donut-shaped circle having an interior periphery 32 and an exterior periphery 33.

Viewing first FIG. 1 in conjunction with FIG. 2, it will be seen that the pockets 14 are cone-shaped pouches particularly adaptable for receiving shoes, said cone-shaped pounches being aflixed to the stem 13 at six radial points on the periphery of the stem, said points being designated 36. Referring now to FIG. 5, the forming of the pouches 14 from the donut-shaped piece of quilted plastic material is illustrated, said pouches being formed by marking six folds on radial lines emanating from the interior periphery 32 at 60-degree intervals thereon. After the pouches are formed, they are positioned each at a suitable point on the stem and each of the folds along said radial lines is then aflixed to the stem as at 36 by means of a colorful tape or any other suitable method. This causes there to be formed six cone-shaped pockets, having an open bottom end 38 of relatively small diameter for receiving the toe end of shoes and a relatively widemouthed opening 39 for the heel ends of shoes. It has been found that a suitable size pocket or pouch can be obtained if the outside diameter of the circle is approximately 29 inches and the inside diameter of the circle is approximately 11 inches, and further, that cones having this structure provide a place in which shoes and other articles can be readily stored or displayed.

Operation A device of the type describedis manufactured and assembled by removably mounting a stem 13 over the stud 25 afiixed to the base 12, said stud being received in the chamber 21 having the sleeve 22 therein. The pouches or pockets are formed as previously described and mounted to positions on the stem 13. The hook 15 mounted for 360-degree movement to the stem permits it to be rotated through 360 degrees of rotation when the device is hung from a pole, as depicted in FIG. 6. If the device is used as shown in FIG. 6, the device is simply lifted from the base 12 and if used as shown in FIG. I joined with the base 12, it may readily be rotated through 360 degrees on rollers or bearings if provided and, if not provided, by the application of a small torque.

In FIG. 7 there is shown an alternative use of this invention wherein the pockets are mounted to a pin which is adapted to be received between the ceiling 41 and floor 42. When used in this fashion, the pockets will be mounted on a pole which can be located in an out-of-theway corner in a closet and rotated through 360 degrees of rotation whereby one using it will have a convenient place for storing shoes or other materials.

It will be readily apparent that the pockets of this device may be made of transparent materials forming an attractive display arrangement.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.

What is claimed is: v

1. An article holding device of the type described comprising; a long, relatively narrow cylindrically-shaped stem having a first end and a second end, said second end having an axial bore therein forming a chamber; a cupshaped housing having an axial hole therein mounted to said first end with the lips of said cup disposed downwardly engaging said first end; a hook havinga ball on the stem thereof, said ball being disposed in said housing and said hook being passed through said hole; means to maintain said housing in engagement with said first end; a sleeve received in said chamber; means partially sealing said chamber and locking said sleeve within said chamber; ball bearings disposed in said means; a diskshaped base having an axial counter-sunk bore therethrough forming a recess in one side thereof; a longitudinal stud having a diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of said sleeve; said stud being of substantially the same lengthas said chamber and having a threaded end, said threaded end being reecived in said bore extending into said recess; a first nut disposed in said recess in threaded engagement with said threaded end and a second nut on the other side of said base in threaded engagement with said stud whereby said base, said stud and said nuts are joined one with each other; a covering over the exterior surface of said base and said stem with tape applied to said covering at the seams thereof, said base being joined to said stem with said chamber having said stud received therein; and three rows of cone-shaped pockets disposed on said stem, said pockets having a relatively small opening at the lowermost end thereof and a larger opening at the uppermost end thereof, there being six pockets in each row, said pockets being formed from a circular, foldable sheet of material having a circular hole in the center thereof.

2. In an article support, a slender pole having a central longitudinal axis, a plurality of holders secured to and along said pole in positions spaced along said axis, each said holder comprising a washer-like sheet of flexible material having concentric inner and outer circular perlpheries, the diameter of said inner periphery being much References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 307,193 Hazelton Oct. 28, 1884 407,927 Haight July 30, 1889 503,708 Ross Aug. 22, 1893 739,620 Rocheleau Sept. 22, 1903 980,098 Hansen Dec. 27, 1910 1,078,729 Hill Nov. 18, 1913 1,909,942 Fingerman May 23, 1933 1,957,564 West May 8, 1934 

2. IN AN ARTICLE SUPPORT, A SLENDER POLE HAVING A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL AXIS, A PLURALITY OF HOLDERS SECURED TO AND ALONG SAID POLE IN POSITIONS SPACED ALONG SAID AXIS, EACH SAID HOLDER COMPRISING A WASHER-LIKE SHEET OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING CONCENTRIC INNER AND OUTER CIRCULAR PERIPHERIES, THE DIAMETER OF SAID INNER PERIPHERY BEING MUCH GREATER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID POLE, EACH SAID SHEET BEING CREASED ALONG A PLURALITY OF EQUIANGULARLY-SPACED LINES RADIALLY THEREOF, AND MEANS SECURING SAID SHEET TO SAID POLE CONTINOUSLY ALONG EACH SAID CREASE ONLY, WITH SAID OUTER PERIPHERY UPPERMOST, TO THEREBY FORM A PLURALITY OF POUCHES OPEN AT THE BOTTOM AND TAPERING OUTWARDLY AND UPWARDLY, EACH SAID CREASE BEING SECURED TO SAID POLE AT RESPECTIVE POSITIONS SPACED EQUIANGULARLY THEREABOUT. 